President Trump cancels upcoming summit with North Korea, says world ‘lost a great opportunity for lasting peace’

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Kim Jong Un and President Trump

President Trump cancels upcoming summit with North Korea, says world ‘lost a great opportunity for lasting peace’

Kim Jong Un and President Trump

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump has canceled the June 12 summit with North Korea.

In a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the president said he was “very much looking forward to being there.” However, he wrote that recent statements from North Korea would prevent the summit from taking place.

“Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting,” the letter said.

“You talk about your nuclear capabilities,” he wrote, “but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used.”

A letter from the President to Chairman Kim Jong Un: "It is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting." pic.twitter.com/3dDIp55xu1

The decision comes after North Korea announced the demolition of a nuclear test site. Even so, officials took a jab at Washington, with officials calling Vice President Mike Pence a “political dummy” and saying the country was just as ready for a nuclear confrontation as it was for negotiations.

North Korea has also criticized the selection of John Bolton as national security adviser.

The summit, scheduled for June 12 in Singapore, had been lauded as a significant diplomatic victory for the administration.

In his letter to North Korea’s leader, the president said he felt a “wonderful dialogue” was building up between the two leaders.

“Some day, I look very much forward to meeting you. In the meantime, I want to thank you for the release of the hostages who are now home with their families. That was a beautiful gesture and was very much appreciated,” he wrote, referring to the release of three Americans held captive in North Korea.

“The world, and North Korea in particular, has lost a great opportunity for lasting peace and great prosperity and wealth,” Trump wrote. “This missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history.”